Message from the IPRA President: Unlocking new opportunities December 2020
(Comments)
3 years, 11 months ago
It has been a busy few weeks during which I have had the pleasure to virtually connect with many of you. In Iran, I delivered the keynote video-address to the 16th International Public Relations Symposium in Tehran. This event is traditionally endorsed by IPRA and two other IPRA board members also presented to the symposium. Then, in a video message, I spoke on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the PR Society in Japan and I was able to use this opportunity to congratulate our Golden World Award winning colleagues in Japan once again! IPRA members had the chance to join the 6th FOCUS Conference, endorsed by us, and organised exclusively online this year by Croatia-based Golden World Award winner Apriori World.
A new report
Earlier this month a new crowdsourced report How to recover fast from the pandemic was launched. It is one of the results from the global taskforce for covid-19 communications which IPRA joined in March. The report features 75 industry leaders from across 23 countries and is most informative. During the eight months since the taskforce was formed, 40 free advice sessions have been delivered to PR professionals around the world, as well as nine free webinars (the latest was held on 19 November). Altogether we have reached 1500 practitioners globally. I was part of this work and the feedback I received was very positive indeed.
A new normal
Discussing in depth the lessons from covid-19 during these events, it became clear that the key learning from the pandemic will not be the reflex of wearing face masks, social distancing and meeting online, but the fact that going back to normal is no longer possible. Simply, the normal we know and dream for has disappeared for ever. In the post covid-19 era life will be different. As individuals, people will increasingly expect a more personalized approach. As employees, they will demand purpose that goes beyond commercial results. And as consumers, they will expect a strong link that connects what an organisation says or tells with what an organisation does.
A new connect
So, what does this new normal mean for us and for our industry? By reinforcing the connection between organisations telling and doing with communications based on purpose, trust, and ethics we have an opportunity. An opportunity, that is, to lead in changing times, to elevate the standards of our profession, and to co-create the better future that we all dream about.
Svetlana Stavreva
President 2019 – 2020
Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
Comments